A cylinder of a printing group, which is embodied as a hollow body, is known from DE 41 19 824 C1 and DE 41 19 825 C1. The cylinder consists of a one-piece cast body constituting an outer body and additionally has, if required, an inner one-piece rotationally-symmetrical cast body. The two cast bodies are made, for example, of cast steel or of gray cast iron and, in the case of DE 41 19 824 C1, are embodied in one piece by the use of connecting strips, or are welded together.
A cylinder of a printing group made of gray cast iron is known from DE 42 12 790 A1. For increasing the bending resistance of the cylinder, an axially extending steel core has been cast, centered in the cylinder, which, at the same time, projects as a shaft journal out of the end faces of the cylinder. The gray iron cast cylinder concentrically envelopes the steel core and has hollow spaces.
A cylinder of a printing group is known from DE 196 47 067 A1, which cylinder consists of a base body of gray cast iron or of a light metal casting. A cylinder core, which is preferably hollow, has been cast as a stiffening element in the base body. The cylinder core consists, for example, of a steel pipe. Further reinforcing profiles, extending parallel with the longitudinal axis of the cylinder and having a solid or hollow cross section, and possibly with a non-uniform wall thickness, are arranged in a radially outward located area of the base body, are distributed over the circumference of this area and are preferably brought as closely as possible to the shell face of the base body. The stiffening element, and all of the reinforcing profiles are closed off at their respective ends and are completely surrounded by the cast material of the base body.
A temperature-controllable double-shelled cylinder is known from Patent Publications DE 861 642 B and DE 929 839 B. A heating or cooling medium, which preferably is air, is passed over a helix-like path within the double cylinder shell. The inner cylinder and the outer cylinder are arranged coaxially at a radial distance of approximately 10 to 20 mm from each other.
A temperature-controllable counter-pressure cylinder is known from DE 20 55 584 A, and which has heating chambers in its shell over the entire cylinder width. These heating chambers are connected to a warm water circuit by an inflow line that is arranged axially in a cylinder journal, and an outflow line which is conducted coaxially with the inflow line.
A temperature-controllable printing forme cylinder is known from DE 37 26 820 A1, whose interior is completely filled with a liquid. The liquid passes through a first circuit extending outside of the printing forme cylinder. A cooling pipe, which is preferably coil-shaped, penetrates the liquid over the entire cylinder width. A cooling medium, which flows through the cooling tube and which is connected to a second circuit, cools the liquid and therefore cools the cylinder.
A cylindrical rotating body for printing presses, which can be temperature-controlled by the introduction of water vapor, is known from DE 93 06 176 U1. Bores or lines, which extend along the rotating body closely under its shell face, are utilized. These bores or lines can have a course differing from axial parallelism, and therefore can have a drop toward the center of the rotating body.
A temperature-controllable cylindrical rotating body for printing presses is known from DE 195 10 797 A1. A coolant flows through the entire interior in only one cycle. The rotating body is provided, at one side, with a coolant feed device, and a coolant flow-off device is arranged in a cylinder journal and is connected with a rotary lead-through.
A temperature-controllable printing forme cylinder is known from DE 199 57 943 A1, which, in its interior, has casting core chambers, which chambers extend over the width of the cylinder and which are closed off, at the ends of the cylinder body, by covers. A pipe, extending over the cylinder width, is arranged in each chamber. A sealingly displaceable pipe unit, which is connected with a rotary lead-through for the supply and removal of coolant, is arranged in an axial bore of a cylinder journal. At the end of the cylinder equipped with the pipe unit, every pipe is connected, via a radial bore, with the pipe unit. Coolant is supplied and flows through the pipes and flows into the hollow casting core chambers in the area of the oppositely located end of the cylinder and is conducted away from there via a radial bore connected with the pipe unit.
A temperature-controllable cylinder for a rotary printing group, and which is embodied with almost completely solid walls, is known from EP 0 557 245 A1. This cylinder has a first line along its rotary shaft, and has several second lines closely underneath its shell face, which second lines are connected with the first line, are preferably arranged equidistant in the circumferential direction and extend parallel with the longitudinal axis, and through which lines a fluid can flow for controlling the temperature of the shell face.
A temperature-controllable cylinder for a rotary printing group is known from EP 0 652 104 B1, which cylinder has a cylinder shell pipe, at each one of whose respective ends a flange is arranged. A separating pipe and a feed pipe extend in the interior of the cylinder coaxially in relation to its length. A hollow chamber situated between the separating pipe and the cylinder shell pipe constitutes a cooling chamber, through which cooling chamber a coolant supply via a feed pipe flows. The line in the separating pipe is connected with the cooling chamber via connecting bores in one of the flanges.
A temperature-controllable cylinder for a rotary printing group is known from WO 01/26 902 A1 and WO 01/26 903 A1, which cylinder has a pipe-shaped or a solid cylinder base body, and which is surrounded by a pipe-shaped outer cylinder body. For controlling the temperature of the shell face, a channel is formed on the circumference of the cylinder base body, or in a gap between the cylinder base body and the outer cylinder body, and through which a temperature-control medium can flow. The channel can be configured, for example, as an open gap with a ring-shaped clear profile, or as a groove revolving in a helical manner in the axial direction of the cylinder.
A heating or cooling roller with a roller body with peripheral bores axially in respect to the roller body for a fluid heat-conducting medium is known from DE 40 36 121 A1. It is the object of this prior device to achieve as uniform a temperature profile as possible over the entire roller body. One embodiment of that roller, for the attainment of this object, provides for lining the peripheral bores with heat-insulating materials, so that the amount of heat emitted by the heat-carrying medium to the roller, per unit of length of peripheral bore, is as constant as possible, in spite of resultant temperature differences in the heat-conducting medium. Therefore, the radial expansion and the temperature at the roller surface are kept as uniform as possible. To this end, the insulating material is placed into the bores in such a way that the insulating material continuously changes the diameter of the bores. Thus, the heat transfer from the heat-conducting medium to the roller body, over the length of the bores, is maintained constant by the thickness of the insulating material introduced into the bores, in spite of a temperature drop occurring along the bores.
A device for dampening non-printing locations on planographic printing plates in printing presses is known from DE 629 700 B. A coolant flows through a cooling coil arranged in a plate cylinder. The cooling coil is arranged in a space enclosing an inner part of the plate cylinder with the exception of the cylinder pit, and in particular underneath the printing surface. An insulating layer is arranged between the inner portion of the plate cylinder and the space with the cooling coil. The cooling coil is in metallic contact with the outer wall of the space which faces the printing surface.
A cylinder of a printing press is known from the later published DE 103 05 594 A1. A cylinder is constructed of several layers and, in one embodiment, has an internal temperature-control device, which is embodied as a coolant line, for example. The temperature-control device is arranged between a thermal insulation and a support surface for material to be imprinted, such as, for example, a preferably thin-walled cylinder shell. The thermal insulation can be made of a dimensionally stable material, such as, for example, a metal foam or a ceramic material or, if it has been divided into segments, for example, of a felt or fiber material. DE 103 05 594 A1 expressly does not relate to printing forme cylinders, to rubber blanket cylinders or to inking unit rollers.